I used BigCommerce for several years to host a few of my online stores, including * SweatshirtStation.com * RobbinsAthletics.com * OnlineSafetyDepot.com
However, I switched all of them to a WordPress with WooCommerce setup after I found that BigCommerce became cost prohibitive, especially for companies that don't have huge margins.
BigCommerce DOES have everything you'd need for running a store and doing it efficiently, including: * Easy to Use Templates * Highly Customizable Designs * Solid Product Management Tools * A Large Third-Party App Marketplace * Built-in SEO Tools
However, as you scale your business, those features become increasingly expensive to use, and your BigCommerce bill can get into the thousands of dollars per month when your revenue starts growing into the $50k+ per month range.
As I compared the cost of using WooCommerce to BigCommerce when scaling up a business, I found that the cost was much less using WooCommerce.
WooCommerce v BigCommerce Feature Comparison As you can see from the list below comparing WooCommerce features with BigCommerce, BigCommerce wins most of the feature competitions. However, for ecommerce businesses that grow large enough that they can handle taking care of their IT infrastructure, it becomes much cheaper for them to use WooCommerce.
Hosting & Security | WooCommerce: Self-hosted, requires security setup | BigCommerce: Fully hosted, built-in SSL & PCI compliance | Advantage: BigCommerce
Ease of Use | WooCommerce: More technical, requires setup & maintenance | BigCommerce:Easier to use with built-in features | Advantage: BigCommerce
Customization & Design | WooCommerce: Highly customizable with themes & plugins | BigCommerce:Customizable with drag-and-drop builder & themes | Advantage: WooCommerce
SEO & Marketing | WooCommerce: Strong SEO tools, but depends on plugins | BigCommerce:Built-in SEO & marketing tools | Advantage: BigCommerce
Multi-Channel Selling | WooCommerce: Requires additional plugins for multi-channel | BigCommerce:Built-in multi-channel selling (Amazon, eBay, Facebook, etc.) | Advantage: BigCommerce
Payment Options | WooCommerce: Supports many gateways but may require extra fees | BigCommerce:No transaction fees, supports 65+ gateways | Advantage: BigCommerce
Product Management | WooCommerce: Flexible product options, dependent on extensions | BigCommerce:Comprehensive built-in product management | Advantage: BigCommerce
Scalability | WooCommerce: Scalability depends on hosting & plugins | BigCommerce:Scales easily with enterprise-grade performance | Advantage: BigCommerce
Abandoned Cart Recovery | WooCommerce: Requires a plugin (paid feature) | BigCommerce:Built-in abandoned cart recovery | Advantage: BigCommerce
Analytics & Reporting | Basic reports; needs plugins for advanced analytics | BigCommerce:Advanced built-in reporting & analytics | Advantage: BigCommerce
Third-Party Integrations | WooCommerce:Large plugin ecosystem, but needs management | BigCommerce:Built-in integrations with major platforms | Tie (Both have large marketplaces)
B2B Features | WooCommerce:Limited built-in, needs third-party solutions | BigCommerce:Robust built-in B2B tools | Advantage: BigCommerce
Cost Considerations | WooCommerce:Free core software but requires hosting, security, and plugins | BigCommerce:Monthly subscription but includes hosting & security | Advantage: WooCommerce (More control over costs)